A Sunny American Dream

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Sunflowers: A Symbol of the American Dream?

Buttonwood Farm in Griswold, Connecticut specializes in two things--no, three: sunflowers, ice cream, and sunflower ice cream.

This family-run farm holds a sunflower festival every year. People wander through acres of sunflowers and then stand on a long line for ice cream of every flavor and hue, including purple Maine-wild-blueberry ice cream. Some kids had purple lips and purple splotches on their faces and shirts.

Instead of red, white and blue, how about yellow and purple?

The farm plants 14 acres of sunflowers every year. Bunches are on sale for $5. All sunflower proceeds go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The farm has raised more than $500,000 since 2004. Visit next August. Your eyes will be rewarded.

Up close and personal, like the bee in the center.

Picturesque Connecticut farmland.

A new kind of tractor pull.

Connecticut farmhouses in the distance.

For sale, $5 a bunch.  All sunflower proceeds go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. 

More American Dreams in Stonington, Connecticut

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American Dreams Gone Boom and Bust in Stonington

Stonington has some exquisite homes. It's located on a narrow peninsula, so houses on both sides of the peninsula have waterfront views. Many of the houses could be featured in Homes & Gardens or Architectural Digest. Some people's American Dreams came true in substantial ways.

The chapel of a cemetery on the road to Stonington. This is where all dreams and plans die. Unless we get to work on them in heaven.

A mansion in the borough. Notice the widow's lookout octagonal room at the very top of the house.

Doors of Stonington. Shops where people buy and sell to make their dreams come true.

American Dreams in Stonington, Connecticut

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More Scenes of the American Dream at Work in Stonington, CT

This weekend I met a woman who lobsterfished alone for a living in the waters off Stonington for 25 years. I met her in the independent bookstore in nearby Mystic while she was selling the children's book she wrote about her work. 

The people who wrest their living from the sea are strong in heart and body.  Take a look at the boats and equipment they use to provide us with healthy seafood.

A tangle of nets on the fishing dock in Stonington.

Not everything is shiny new.

The stern of a fishingboat. Don't slide off the deck in a storm...

Lobster pots.

These boats go out in late fall, winter, early spring. The skipper on this boat has little protection from the rain and none from the cold.

Another gritty workboat with no protection for the captain or crew.

American Dream of Returning Home

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The American Dream in Stonington, CT

Stonington is near Mystic, CT and is famous for its fishing fleet, often led by Portuguese Americans who've lived in the historic town all their lives. Fishing is a risky way to make a living, as shown in The Perfect Storm. The ships shown in this blog post are blessed once a year by a priest, but it's still risky. The fisherman's American Dream might be not only to make a living, but to return to their families daily.

The American Dream on Workboats

I'll have more workboats, a passion of mine, for you next week.

A lovely boat tied up in Stonington Harbor.

Another view of the same boat.

The ocean can be furious, and the fishermen must work furiously to reap their harvest from the sea.

A block and tackle on the Furious. 

The stanchions and pulleys that bring our fish dinners out of the sea.

Unusual American Dreams

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Show-Stopping American Dreams

In New York City, people had unusual ideas about how to earn some money to make their American Dreams come true.

You could spray-paint yourself gold, act like a robot, and put a can out for donations.

The man with a python wrapped twice around his neck was earning money within footsteps of the statue of a bull, the quintessential symbol of the New York financial markets, near Bowling Green Park.

Handle a python, anyone?

I guess he lives with them in his apartment at night.  Could you sleep?

Successful American Dreaming

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The Form Our American Dreams Will Take

Scenes from Columbus Circle reveal different forms our dreams might take, some ethereal, some literally concrete.

The interior of the Paulist Fathers' Church at 60th and Columbus Avenue. Ideally, all a monk wants is greater connection with God, right? That's his American Dream (and ultimately his reality, I hope).  

Unisphere above the Columbus Circle subway entrance. A sculptor's dream come true in metal.

Old meets new architecture near Columbus Circle. Some architect had his dream come true to see his building come to life. His dream takes a different form than a monk's. What form will your dream take? What does success look like for you?

American Dreams from Rome and Serbia

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The American Dream of Justice and Freedom of Religion

Some people define the American Dream as justice for all, and freedom of speech and religion.

Keep your eyes open in New York City (and everywhere else, for that matter) and you see weird and wonderful things.  Many of them are related to the American Dream.

A Roman centurion sits guard over the Appellate Courthouse near Madison Square Park.  "Justice for all" in in our Pledge of Allegiance. According to our Judeo-Christian heritage, we need to provide it to Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, Muslims, aliens on our shores.

The doorway to St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral on West 25th Street in the historic Chelsea district.  See interior views at nyc-architecture.com  Learn about its fabulous organ.

When do you plan to visit NYC again? Tell me in the comments section, and I'll try to meet you!